The Other Side of the Coin
by Katar Vamir
Summary: Most people go on a journey when they come of age. Some of them even become legendary heroes. Not Seraphina Salem. With extremely strict parents, this is the story of her little act of rebellion, and how it escalated to something far beyond that.
1. Prologue: My Life

**My Life**

Everyone has their special day. You know, the one where they get their first Pokemon. Some make a life-long friend. Some even start an adventure. All when they meet the region's age requirement to start something like that (it's 10. In Sinnoh, at least.)

Everyone has that special day. Everyone except me, that is. I should probably introduce myself. My name is Seraphina Salem, the sole daughter and heir of the Salems. In the off chance you haven't heard of us, we're a group of extraordinarily skilled assassins. I haven't had any jobs yet, but I've been training my whole life, and I've beaten most of the others in sparring. "The Princess Assassin," they call me. I'm not sure how much they've thought through that name. It can be read a different way than they intend it to. (Which is the way I always see it.)

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Most people start their journeys when they're 10, though not everyone does. In fact, they say that for everyone that goes on a journey, there's someone who finds another way to enjoy life with their Pokemon (the League only accepts so many challengers). What a farce _that_ is. Most people who don't go on a journey are miserable. At least, they are here in Lyslef (It's a small town in southern Sinnoh. You probably haven't heard of it. It's pronounced LIZ-lef.)

My class size more than halved when people started turning 10, and the rest of them started doing stuff with their friends and Pokemon. Me? What did I do? I suppose you'd imagine that I'd do the same. Ha. What a joke. This farce called life doesn't work like that.

People aren't created equal, and not everyone has the same opportunities. _Arceus_ do they not. My parents, being master assassins and not seeing a need for them, wouldn't let me get one. And being known criminals, I didn't have any friends either. I don't know if it's just because they were afraid, or if they just wanted to make fun of me behind my back, but no one ever talked to me. I was, for all intents and purposes, alone. Here I am, 18 years old, and completely alone.

This is where my story begins. I'd read on the internet that there was a professor who traveled around a lot, and did research on the history of the world through culture and ancient ruins, I think it was. That could be my chance to get a Pokemon and start my journey, and get away from my parents. So I sent her an email.

Little did I know what that little act of rebellion would start.

I would begin to fight the injustices of the world.

I would get involved in something bigger than myself.

I would become part of a story thousands of years in the making.

And in the end, I would even lose my own life doing what's right for the world, knowing that I would be the only one to know what I did.


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**New Beginnings**

The Salems were a significant threat to Sinnoh, several years ago. So when I received an email from one, I was quite surprised. More so when it wasn't Simon or Lura (the two who started the group, and share the last name). But because of that (and that she was asking for a Pokemon), it wasn't hard to figure out that she must have been their daughter. Maybe she was the daughter of horrible criminals, but I believe that everyone deserves an equal chance.

How did I figure out all these things about her? She didn't give her name in the email, but she _did_ use her school email, and no one in their right mind would keep the name _Salem_ after the events of a few years ago. And a name like _Seraphina_ could only be a girl. It's not exactly a masculine name.

I sent her a reply email, and set my coordinates for Lyslef. Oh, right. That'll make more sense once I introduce myself. My name is Professor Eve Grenore. I study the history of the world as a whole.

I'm also an accomplished engineer. I get it from my dad. He was a genius who figured out how to open portals. Unfortunately, they weren't very accurate. He taught me about his research since… well, since as far back as I can remember.

From his (extremely) flawed technology, I made it more accurate, and I can land within a 20-foot radius (which can cause problems with just that) using global coordinates. Hence, setting my coordinates.

Back to the main point, I left for Lyslef, and met with Seraphina. The thing that stood out to me the most was her age. She was… _my_ age. 18, if I had to guess. Sure, I'm young. I'm 25, after all, and most people don't become professors until much later in life. But most people already have a Pokemon by the time they're 14, at the latest. So what was going on?

"Um… I-It's nice to meet you…" The girl meekly said. This told me that she was socially awkward.

"Likewise. So why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"Oh, right. Um… I-I'm 18…" ...I can't believe I got that spot on. "-and… well… I don't really do much else. I-I know how to fight, I guess." Nothing? Really?

"Well that's interesting. Why don't you tell me about that?"

"Oh, well, it… it's nothing special… my… my parents taught me how." That makes a bit of sense.

I nodded. "I suppose they would have, given who they are."

She flinched, and the color drained from her face, leaving her a sickly pale. "You… you know who my parents are…?" So she wasn't proud of it. Interesting.

"Well, unless there are other Salems, yeah."

"...! But! But I never told you what my last name was!" I suppose she had a bit to learn. Or maybe it's just something I pay attention to. I'm not exactly the most normal of individuals.

"You used your school email." Did I mention she had made tea? I took a sip of mine.

"Oh… I see…" She clenched her fists on her dress. "My… my parents don't know I'm doing this… and… and if they find out…" she started shaking lightly. So that was it. They wouldn't let her have a Pokemon of her own, and probably wouldn't let her leave the town, either.

I set down my teacup. "Seraphina, if I cared about who your parents were, I wouldn't have come." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to show who they are, regardless of who their parents or the people around them are. That includes you."

"It's okay." She looked down, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "You don't have to pretend. I know you hate me too." What? What was she talking about?

"If I truly hated you," I pulled three Pokeballs out of my pocket. "would I be offering you this choice?"

Unlike other professors who gave out starters with a type of grass, water, and fire, I offered one of three dragon type Pokemon. My choices are Bagon, Gible, and Deino. My runner up was Jangmo-o in place of Gible, but I'm kind of biased towards Sinnoh Pokemon.

As her eyes widened in a kind of surprise as I let out the three options. "Is this… some kind of… joke, maybe…?" Her eyes were fixed on the Gible. Good choice, I thought.

"Of course it's not. I'd never do that to someone, especially in a situation like this." I felt that she may have taken it the wrong way if I had said 'someone like you,' even though I would have meant it as someone dealing with what she currently was.

"Is it… is it really okay…? I mean…" She sighed. "I've never been trusted with anything like this before."

I had to think as bit for that one. "You're right, Seraphina. I don't know you, and I don't exactly have a reason to trust you." Seraphina flinched at that, and looked up. "So I'm going to use this as an opportunity to gain my trust. Go ahead and choose a Pokemon, and I want you to check in with me when you reach a new city, and tell me what you've been up to."

She looked back at the Gible. "What… what would you like me to do?"

I smiled. "Live your dream." I stood up, placing Gible's Pokeball on the table. "I suspect you won't want to stay in Sinnoh, given your parents, so I'll give you _1_ free trip to another region to give you a head start on them. So where would you like to go?"

~oOo~Author's Notes~oOo~

Hello! I thought I'd spend a short time clarifying some things that a certain someone said in a review of the _prologue_. First of all, don't judge anything about a character based on a prologue, because they typically don't give much story information. I feel like this chapter gives a lot more information on Seraphina than the prologue does, but even so, there's still so much more about her that doesn't apply in the situations I've written.

Also, this story is inspired on a story I started telling in roleplay, so characters like Eve may seem OP, but I've nerfed them so they only have the powers relevant to the story. Actually, I've changed a LOT about Eve. I had to, because she was literally born from other roleplays, and is very… VERY weird. So please. I already know. You don't need to tell me.

Hopefully I don't need to do another one of these, and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story! (There's a LOT to come. My estimate is at least 20 chapters in part 1.)


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